Wednesday, March 7, 2012

REVIEW: GI Joe: Resolute GI Joe Battle Set - Flint

Produced by Hasbro | Released 2009

FLINT is a classical scholar and graduate of the Airborne School, Ranger School, Special Forces School and Flight Warrant Officers School. He brings a broad intellectual background as well as finely honed technical skills and tactical knowledge to the GI JOE team. A thorough and meticulous planner, he has led many dangerous and complex missions in the field and overseen them from the team's base. His arrogance may be irritating at times, but it comes from firsthand experience, rock-solid skills and extensive knowledge. As the team disperses around the globe and into space to stop COBRA, FLINT advises them all from the team's base.

The rear shows the featured characters and gives a brief overview of the series concept. Clip and collect cards are enclosed within.

Sculpt and Design

One of the things I liked about GI Joe: Resolute was the way many of the characters were redesigned in a way that made them fresh, lifelike and exciting yet retained their core -ness. The Resolute Flint was no exception in the cartoon and I'm pleased to say the figure sticks closely to that formula.

The body sculpt is pretty solid, overall. I like that there's a kind of ''layered'' look to him, with his t-shirt, elbow-pad and glove combo really giving the impression of clothing/equipment on the figure (rather than just being ''solid sculpt'' pieces.) The addition of his webbing and wrist-mounted ammo gauntlet enhance this look superbly and the overall impression is very positive. Like yesterday's Beachhead, this gives him a design that looks as if he's poised for action without being overly-equipped or complicated. It's a fine line to walk between giving a figure too little detail so as to make him boring but at the other end of the spectrum add too much and make the figure lose his focus. Thankfully Flint is a perfect example of getting that look just right.

As a result of this, there's enough going on to keep the eye engaged and make Flint pop when he's on the shelf but at the same time you could hand him over to your kids and let them play with him, safe in the knowledge that he's not going to be returned to you with a dozen parts missing or broken.

Flint shares his leg and arm pieces with Beachhead and so has the same non-functioning holster on his thigh. It's a little disappointing that he can't stow his pistol there but as a piece of sculpt-work it's actually very good and part of me likes the idea that even when he's not holding a weapon, he's still armed. I wish Hasbro had done this for some of the Rise of Cobra figures (such as Cover Girl), as it would have greatly enhanced their look and functionality.

But even with these shared parts, Flint is still a unique- - and very cool - looking figure.

Articulation

The GI Joe articulation set-up should be the standard for Hasbro's figures, as it's an excellent bit of design. In Flint's case it works superbly, as the sculpt has no bulky parts to restrict movement and the joints themselves are perfectly-pitched, being firm enough to hold a pose but not so stiff as to restrict movement.

I did find Flint had some issues holding his pistol (see below) but this wasn't a massive issue and - that aside - I experienced no problems getting him to hold the various poses I put him in.

Paint

Flint's paintwork is, on the whole, very good. It's accurate to the animated character and has a good mix of muted - but not dull - coloring to really gives Flint a lifelike look, with a varied palette of greens, grays and black being used to add a lot of very subtle depth to his design. Again, like Beachhead, it's an eye-catching color-combo that works well but never steps into the realms of the neon-bright or cartoony.

The actual app is pretty good, with detail on the webbing, facial features and other minor detailing all being picked-out very cleanly and clearly. My only criticism is that the tan on the webbing appears to be applied very thickly, to the point where I'm not sure if the sculpt isn't particularly detailed or if it's the paintwork obscuring it. That aside though, it's a very solid, attractive paint app.

Extras and Accessories

Flint comes with a pre-attached webbing/vest and wrist-mounted ammo gauntlet. The figure is equipped with a shotgun and a pistol and a base and file card are included in the packaging.

Flint's gear falls into the ''OK but not great'' school of equipment. Whilst the ''layer'' accessories are really cool and the pistol looks great, I have to admit the shotgun's grass-green coloring is a little too day-glo when compared to the rest of the figure. Of course, it's a nice little homage to the original Flint but I'd have preferred it in a darker tone, as the actual sculpt is very good.

Sadly Flint's beret isn't removable.

Final Thoughts

What I really dig about the Resolute figures is that they do a great job of appealing to both classic Joe fans and those looking for a more modern aesthetic. Each character is updated enough to shirk-off the Saturday Morning Cartooniness yet at the same time retains everything that gives them their character and identity. And the Resolute Flint is no exception.

Fans of GI Joe will recognize him immediately and will, I'm sure, be a fan of the design, as it's - like the Resolute Beachhead - a real ''essential'' version of the character. It's got all the trappings you'd expect of Flint but without any of the associated 80s excesses. Without wanting to alienate or annoy GI Joe fans, Flint is a figure that could easily fit into a lifelike military figure line without looking in the least bit cartoony or out of place yet can also stand next to his fellow Joes and fit perfectly into the range.

He's not perfect, of course. Although the layered gear is cool, I'm not a fan of the too-bright shotgun and it would have been cool to have a holster that worked or a removable beret but these are minor points and don't really detract too much from the figure's overall cool factor.